Kernels likely to purchase Waterloo Bucks

CEDAR RAPIDS – The Cedar Rapids Kernels appear to have made up for a lost concessions contract by gaining another baseball team.

Kernels General Manager Doug Nelson told The Gazette on Tuesday night the club is in exclusive negotiations to purchase the Waterloo Bucks of the collegiate Northwoods League.

The sale is subject to league approval and the Kernels obtaining a lease from the City of Waterloo to continue playing at Waterloo's Riverfront Stadium. The Kernels hope to take over operations of the Bucks for the 2015 season.

This is good news after the club recently learned concessions at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, which they had operated for two years, are being returned to national vendor Sodexho.

'We are always looking at how to grow as a business,” Nelson said. 'Last winter we were talking to Bucks General Manager Dan Corbin, who mentioned the team was for sale. That led to additional conversations, and one thing kind of led to another.”

The Bucks were founded in 1995, after Waterloo lost its Midwest League professional team, by initial Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hockey club owner Butch Johnson. Twin Cities businessmen John and Steve Marso now own the franchise.

The Northwoods League consists of 18 clubs in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Ontario, Canada, with a 72-game regular-season schedule. Players generally are freshmen and sophomores in college and are not paid.

The Bucks roster this season includes former Cedar Rapids Washington prep A.J. Puk (who recently completed his freshman season at the University of Florida) and former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep Dustin Carlson (a senior-to-be at Long Island University in New York). The league boasts a substantial number of major league alumni.

'Waterloo has a strong baseball tradition dating back to 1904,” said Kernels President Gary Keoppel. 'We are looking to continue that tradition for a long time.”

'Partnering with Cedar Rapids would strengthen the Waterloo Bucks front office as it brings additional resources and ideas that would improve the fan experience at future Bucks games,” Corbin said.

Nelson would not divulge what the Kernels are paying to buy the Bucks. Expansion franchises are going for a million dollars.

'You can ask, but I won't respond,” he said.

Waterloo is averaging 1,484 fans per home game this season. Madison, Wis., also another former Midwest League city, leads the league in attendance at 5,812 fans.

Other teams in the league are the LaCrosse Loggers, Kalamazoo Growlers, Eau Claire Expresss, St. Cloud Rox, Kenosha Kingfish, Wisconsin Woodchucks, Lakeshore Chinooks, Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, Willmar Stingers, Battle Creek Bombers, Mankato MoonDogs, Green Bay Bullfrogs, Duluth Huskies, Rochester Honkers, Alexandria Blue Anchors and Thunder Bay Border Cats.

'We are very excited with the possibility to begin a new chapter in the history of both organizations,” Nelson said. 'Combining the resources of both operations will make both two clubs stronger.”

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